


Milky Way

by Dark_Mage_of_Ylisse



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Candy Shop, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Ballet Dancer Lapis, Broken Families, Candy, Eventual Smut, F/F, Florida, Homophobia, Lapis and Pearl are Cousins, Peri and Squari's Step-Dad Is A Prick, Slow Burn, Snark, Swimmer Peridot, Trans Male Character, Transphobia, awkward lesbians, god dammit Lapis KISS HER
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-03-13 20:30:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13578381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_Mage_of_Ylisse/pseuds/Dark_Mage_of_Ylisse
Summary: Lapis Lazuli is working her new job at a local candy shop, only to find a rather odd customer who comes into the store every day to buy candy. Worry for this mysterious girl causes her to start interacting with this woman, only to open a Pandora's box of problems she never thought she'd encounter. But is it all worth it? Hell yes.





	1. Rock Candy

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I did get permission from Zawa-ro to use Esme, and for those of you who follow me on Tumblr and knew this story was coming, yes, I know, FINALLY eh?  
> Anyways, please leave a comment if you enjoyed it!

Okay, this was odd. This girl had been coming into the store for a week straight. Every single day since Lapis had started working there at the start of the week.

She had to admit, this was a pretty good place to work. It was air conditioned, which saved her from Florida's brutal heat. The songs on the radio were recent and actually sounded good instead of purely cheesy pop songs, the whole store smelled sweet, and according to her co-workers their boss, Azura Diamond, paid them nicely.

There was one customer in the whole store who stood out from the rest. Short as could be with thick hips, bright blue eyes, high nasally voice, freckles all over her pale face, fluffy blonde hair, and glasses that were way too big for her. According to the woman working at the register beside her, Holly, this nearly child-sized woman was named Peridot.

She had never gone anywhere else in the store other than the break room or staying behind her counter. It was her little safe zone away from all the people. She would talk with the other women that worked at the store: Holly, Pearl, Sapphire, Aquamarine, and Azura. She wasn't used to talking much with others, that was why she'd taken the job other than being able to buy food.

But anyway, Lapis sighed and leaned on the counter as she watched Peridot pick out different items. Licorice, jelly beans, chocolate peanut butter cups, gummy worms, rock candy, and put it all into little plastic cups. And yes, this happened EVERY DAY. At first, Lapis had just assumed this girl was having her time of the month and was craving sweets, but no, she'd been told that this woman was a regular. Not only that, but every day she sat out on the bench on front of the store and ate parts of her candy, sometimes she'd wave at Lapis.

The blonde was still walking around the store, curious as could be. Lapis took a deep breath, this would be the first time she ever left the counter. She took a few steps out, and quickly made her way over to Peridot.

“Um, are you okay?” She asked, and the tiny girl looked up at her. “B-because like... You come here every day, and you buy tons of candy and eat it right outside... I was just wondering, y'know, because that's a lot of candy-”

She stopped herself when she heard the blonde snicker. “I'm fine, I don't eat ALL of it, I share with my family and just take the best for myself!” Peridot giggled and set her treats on top of a small table. “My older brother loves it too, and my baby sister likes to chew gummy worms. Besides, I don't have money for anything else.”

Lapis nodded. She felt stupid, why did she do this? “I... I was concerned. I still am actually... You know what? My lunch break is now, pay for your stuff and come with me, you're eating real food for once.”

The pale woman looked at her, obviously confused. “Excuse me?”

“Pay, then come with me.” She told her and walked off to the counter to grab her bag. Peridot followed, paid to Holly and walked to the exit. Lapis quickly followed her and gently grabbed part of her shirt. She'd seen her co-workers do that to bring the tiny girl to other places in the store if she needed to look for something else in the store, so she knew Peridot would be okay with it.

“You know,” Peridot started, “This is kind of kidnapping.”

“No,” Lapis deadpanned back at her, “This is an intervention, you're eating real food.” She dragged the smaller girl into the tiny grocery style store in the other part of the mall, it sold all kinds of things, some of which were little meals made in the store's kitchen. “There's tons of stuff here that's healthy, and a lot of tastes nice, so take your pick and I’ll pay for it.” She told the blonde, arms crossed over her chest now.

Peridot rolled her eyes, a wry smile on her face as she walked around, eyeing the food around her. “Hmm, how about... The little bowl of chicken pasta?” She asked, curiosity visible in her bright teal eyes. “You're really gonna buy this for me?”

Lapis nodded. “Well yeah, that's what I said I'd do. I've got the money right here.” She pulled a few bills out of her pocket. “I mean, I'm getting lunch too. C'mon, it'll be nice not to have to eat alone, won't it?” She gave the tiny woman a small smile, and Peridot nodded after a moment of thinking.

“Yeah, guess you're right. That and... It's weird that I don't know you. I know you're new, but I know everyone in there! So, this is my chance to get to know you a little better. Like... What's your name?”

“Lapis Lazuli. I'm from Italy, and Pearl's my older cousin. Well, HALF cousin, but y'know.”

Peridot gave a soft chuckle. “Yep, trust me, I know.” She had an odd smile, almost nostalgic, but... Not quite. Lapis bought the pasta for the blonde, and a sub sandwich for herself. Bacon, lettuce, cheese and mayo, she liked it. She sat down on a nearby bench with Peridot beside her, taking sips from her water bottle, Peridot drinking from a bottle of iced tea.

“So... Do you like working at the candy shop?” Peridot asked, and with her mouth full, the blue haired girl nodded. “Have you met the others' girlfriends?”

Lapis raised an eyebrow, and swallowed quickly. “They've got girlfriends? I mean I know Pearl is dating Amethyst, Sapphire is dating Ruby, and I think Aquamarine mentioned someone but... I haven't met them. Does Holly have a girl too?”

The short girl snickered. “Aquamarine, her girlfriend is Ruby's sister, Navy.” She explained. “And for Holly, it's not so much as 'a girl' as much as... 'Some girls'.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, three really big, beefy girls who come around a lot. I'm sure you've seen them around without knowing, it's hard to miss them. There's the calm one, Jay, her hair's a little curly, and I think she's a little more elegant. Then there's the more fierce, almost scary but very nice girl, her name is Sharon but if you call her that she'll punch you, she goes by Sharky because she's got sharp teeth. Then there's the friendliest, she helps me get stuff off high shelves if she sees me, her name is Chipper, but we call her Chip for short.” Peridot explained with a huge smile. “They all love Holly so much! You should see it, it's really sweet!”

The two laughed quietly as Peridot told stories about the others, her big blue eyes lit up with joy, then to surprise when her phone buzzed. “Oh, uh, that's my alarm, I've gotta call my dad. Just give me a minute, okay?”

“Go right ahead. I'll throw the garbage out.” Said the blue haired girl, and she dumped their empty containers into the trash as Peridot called her father.

She came back to find a slightly giggly blonde talking into the phone with a very gentle voice. “Hi Esme, it's me, Peri. Yeah, I have gummies for you!” She cooed softly, she must have been talking with her baby sister. “You want me to sleepover? Well, I have to talk to daddy first okay? Can you give him the phone, please? Please give daddy the phone.” She said with a heartwarming grin and a giggle. “I love you too Esme.” She made a small kiss noise before her tone changed to that of someone talking to another adult.

That had been... Adorable. Lapis wanted to see her baby sister now, from the sounds of things she was a cutie.

“Hi dad!” Peridot chirped. “So, I'm guessing you heard that huh? Yeah, I... I miss you. I want to stay at your house this weekend, mom is on a small trip and... I-I don't wanna be in the house alone with her boyfriend.” A pang of worry shot through Lapis' heart, and it gave a squeeze. “So, me and Squari can come over and sleep?” Peridot asked, before her smile picked up a little again. “Thanks dad, love you too. Bye.”

She looked back over to Lapis. “I uh... Gotta get home, and pack up my stuff. But I'll see you around, okay?” She shook Lapis' hand quickly. “It was really nice to meet you Lapis, and... Thank you, for lunch. It was really nice of you, and you didn't have to do that.” She stated with a slight rosiness in her cheeks as she handed the blue haired girl a few jelly beans. “Here, have some.”

“Thanks.” The Italian murmured as she took them, popping one into her mouth as Peridot waved goodbye and walked off. Lapis had come to a realization as she watched the shorter girl walk away.

Peridot was pretty damn cute.


	2. House and Home

“Chip! Shh, I’m at work!” Lapis perked up upon hearing Holly squeal. Holly wasn’t the type to get flustered easily. The blue haired girl peaked behind a shelf, much braver now since her interaction with Peridot.

Speaking of said blonde, Lapis really hoped she was okay.

Anyways, upon peeking over at her co-worker, she saw the taller woman being hugged from behind by a very buff girl with fluffy, dusky pink hair. This must be Chip, one of the girl’s Peridot had mentioned.

Lapis gave a small smile, and went back to stocking the shelf full of licorice and gummy bears. It seemed all her co-workers had a loved one. ‘Or in Holly’s case, 3!’ The Italian girl thought to herself with a soft snicker.

“What are you giggling about?” A voice from just nearby startled her. Aquamarine was here, staring at her with a raised eyebrow. She was a very small British woman, with short teal hair. There was an odd tattoo of a tiny teardrop on her cheek, Lapis wanted to ask why she had it, but... She wasn’t very good at socializing.

Aquamarine was curious, and could come off as icy and rude. She was nicer once people got to truly know her, though. She didn’t talk very much with customers, but when she did she could at least hold a good conversation with them. She did seem to be somewhat frightened of children however, which was funny since she looked so childlike.

“Nothing, Aquamarine.” Lapis told her with a gentle yet wry smile, “Just thought of something I saw.”

The tiny woman rolled her eyes and walked off. Lapis watched as Chip and Holly shared a quick kiss, Holly still blushing like an absolute fool. She was... Jealous. Everyone in this place had somebody who loved them. Sapphire had Ruby, Holly had her 3 girlfriends, Aquamarine had a woman named Navera (Nicknamed Navy for short), and her cousin was dating somebody named Amethyst.

Now, Lapis wasn’t saying she needed a girlfriend this instant, but if a very pretty girl just HAPPENED to come by and ask her out...

Oh who was she kidding, if a pretty girl asked her out Lapis would be tongue-tied for hours. She could jokingly flirt with someone for hours but when it came to serious affection she just stood there smiling like an idiot and wanting to gush about how beautiful the girl was. The blue haired woman was a slight bit of a hopeless romantic, she’d even written things about her love for girls back when she was a teenager. She snickered at the thought of herself acting as some sort of modern day Sappho.

For those who didn’t know, Sappho was the wonderful goddess of being almost too much of a lesbian to function.

Lapis shook her head, she didn’t really have much of a chance with anyone, especially not after her last relationship had left her with nothing more than heartache. All she had was a retail job (even if it actually paid nicely) and a shitty little apartment. Who would ever want her?

POV SHIFT- Peridot Odelet, Emerald’s house

Peridot walked into her brother’s room, looking around at all the stuff he had. Squaridot was a space nerd just like she was. Star charts, a telescope, and little clay models of the planets (and Pluto, still a planet in their eyes) she’d made for him for his last birthday. Ah, she loved her brother, her best friend. She would always love him no matter what.

At the moment though, he was a sneaky little rat who’d stolen her fucking DS. At least, she hoped it was him, and not her stepfather stealing it so she couldn’t play any video games…

Her stepfather was very clear in his hatred for technology. He thought that her generation was lazy and stupid thanks to them.

Peridot found that to be funny considering the man did nothing but sit around and demand everyone do things for him because he couldn’t even do something as simple as make soup. She didn’t know what her grandparents had seen in him when they’d forced Emerald to get together with him, all the blonde saw was a lazy, obnoxious, spoiled rotten pig. A loud one at that. All he ever did was yell at her and her brother.

She remembered one incident in particular. As much as she loved her big brother he... Wasn’t exactly known for his upper body strength, especially in his right wrist since it wasn’t his dominant hand. That day, Robert, the worthless sloth, had demanded that Squaridot make lunch while Emerald was out. After doing nothing but criticizing the blonde boy for doing things his own way, he had forced Squaridot to try and lift a large and heavy pot, not being able to just scoop out any pasta. Of course, the blonde couldn’t do it.

Well it had pissed off Robert quite a bit that someone couldn’t be exactly like him. He had shoved her brother, cussing at him, saying horrible things that had nearly driven him to tears. That Squaridot was pathetic, and no one would ever want to marry him. It had been a while ago, but Peridot could tell that those words still haunted him. 

Robert was the reason that Peridot had wished she was back in the closet, along with her brother. She knew she was gay, and there Squaridot was still questioning in that department, he had figured out only two years ago that he was definitely not a girl. But, their mother knew, and she had told Robert.

Whenever Emerald’s back was turned, the two faced flurries of hatred. Peridot was called names constantly, along with her poor brother, who was always being referred to as a girl. It hurt, but at the very least the two could run off to the man they considered a real dad. 

It was obvious that Emerald loved Lars a lot more than the man she’d married. 4, maybe 5 years ago, she had fallen in love with him, and had given birth to her third child, Esme, short for Esmeralda. Lars was Esme’s dad, and had been taking care of her since she was an infant. Now, Lars was NOT Peridot and Squaridot’s father, that jackass had left when Peridot was a baby.

The two blondes loved him, and wished their mother would go back to him, even if it meant the disapproval of her parents. They had wanted her to marry a wealthy man, despite Emerald already being successful in life. They had picked the guy out for her, and Emerald had begrudgingly agreed to it.

Peridot wanted to help her mother desperately, but she didn’t know how. 

Finally, under one of Squaridot’s pillows, she found her DS. She headed out of his room and back into her own, to continue packing her stuff up. She had already sent Squaridot a text saying that they would be spending time at their dad’s house, and had packed all his things already.

Clothes, pajamas, swimsuit, electronic devices, candy, hygienic stuff, her pillow, her medication... Something was missing. Peridot smiled and dove onto her bed, tightly hugging her bright green teddy bear. Yes, she still slept with one, she liked it.

Finally zipping up her suitcase now that everything was inside, Peridot went outside and waited on the grass with both her and her older brother’s stuff. It was less humid out now, clouds were starting to cover the sun, it would probably rain tonight it would be nice to have something to cut the heat. The blonde watched as tiny lizards ran by, it was always funny to watch tourists visiting the state try to catch them.

Emerald’s house was probably in one of the best places to live (in Peridot’s opinion). Down in Orlando, it was possible to rent out houses to stay in, they were mostly used by tourists who wanted to be close to the parks, but didn’t want to stay in a hotel. Anyways, Emerald had managed to actually buy one of the houses. It was beautiful, with some flowers and hedges growing around it, some good AC, and nice large bedrooms for the tiny family. The only complaint Peridot would ever have about Florida was its water, but even then it was easily solved, all she had to do was use a water bottle for a few things. There were pools (which were very good for Peridot considering she was a swimmer), a hot tub, a tennis court, a grill for barbecues, and a small playground which she and her brother played on when there was no one else around.

Peridot jumped a little when she heard a honk. Her brother pulled up in his car, and she put all of their things in the back. “So, did he say anything to you?” Asked Squaridot, and he smirked when Peridot shook her head. “Good. So, what’s going on with my baby sister?”

The blonde girl rolled her eyes, smacking his hand away when he tried to jokingly pinch her cheek. “Knock that off!” She hissed before they both started to laugh as he pulled out onto the road. “I went to the Blue Moon again-”

“As you do every day.”

“Yes, thank you Captain Obvious. As I was saying, Blue Moon’s got a new employee.”

Squaridot raised an eyebrow. “Really? I thought they were pretty good on staff.”

Peridot shrugged, “Guess they wanted one more. Anyways, I got to meet her today!” She said with a brilliant smile, wiggling a little in her seat. “I even ate lunch with her, she brought me into this other store and bought me food.”

Her brother slowed to a stop at a red light and turned to look Peridot right in the eyes. “This woman bought food for you, and she didn’t expect anything in return?” He asked, keeping his face dead serious. When Peridot nodded, he closed his eyes and nodded sagely. “Marry her.”

The small girl’s face had flushed a deep pink as she smacked the older blonde. “Shut up, you asshole!” She snapped.

“Oh I’m serious Peri, she’s a gentle-woman, I can already see it now.” He said with a smirk, “Promise I get to show her your baby pictures?” 

Peridot growled at him, “You show her anything, it’ll be the last thing you do. Clod.” She huffed, and started to chuckle under her breath as they made their way up to Lars’ apartment.


End file.
